Featured Image Credit: NBC/Universal
Topics: Film and TV, James Cameron
Shola Lee
Avatar director James Cameron thinks that one Liam Neeson film in particular degrades the film industry.
Cameron wasn't alone in sharing his strong words about the 2012 flick, with critics saying that the film was pretty awful.
In fact, on Rotten Tomatoes the movie has only accumulated a rating of 33 percent, which seems needlessly harsh.
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Turns out, Cameron has a particular distaste for Battleship.
For those not familiar with the film, we'll jog your memory. It's essentially the board-game 'Battleship' but with Liam Neeson playing the admiral, instead of you and your dad shouting at each other when one of you finally sinks the other's ship.
Doesn't exactly scream film of the year, but it did mark Rihanna's first big screen appearance so that's something, right?
Still, the film managed to get a pretty elaborate premise from some fairly wide parameters, as the synopsis details: "Lt. Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) is a weapons officer aboard the destroyer USS John Paul Jones, while his older brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgård), is the commanding officer of the USS Sampson.
"Unknown to Alex, Stone, or the rest of the U.S. Navy, alien invaders have arrived on Earth with plans to steal Earth's resources. When a confrontation with the invaders knocks out the Navy's radar capability, American and Japanese forces must work together to find a way to save the planet."
Yep, aliens, at sea, with Liam Neeson and Rihanna. Actually, we're starting to think this could be a cult classic.
Still, Cameron wasn't having any of it, telling the German publication Spiegel Online: "We have a story crisis. Now they want to make Battleship the game into a film! This is pure desperation because now the 'Sequel Business' governs Hollywood, or how we call it: the franchise."
We mean, Avatar 2 is coming out in December, so we're not sure how much water this comment holds.
Coincidentally, Avatar 2 is also called The Way of the Water, which we expect will fit pretty nicely among the director's franchise of Avatar films.
But, Cameron just wasn't sold on the whole Battleship idea: "Everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is that the film before it hit theatres, is already a brand. If a brand has been around, Harry Potter for example, or Spider-Man, you are light years ahead... And there lies the problem. Because unfortunately (these franchises are becoming more) ridiculous. Battleship. This degrades the cinema."
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